Soul of a Monster
by bbqbeefburgerman
Summary: As a result of a twisted science experiment, Kuroi's life is forever changed. Now she wanders through Vale, scrapping enough money just to get by.
1. Chapter 1

Forever Fall, a mountainous region where the trees bears leaves and sap the colour of blood. While it is in high demand, acquisition of the sap is quite dangerous, the smell of it attracts Rapier Wasps and Ursi; as well as the forest being filled with Grimm.

Stopping at the edge of a cliff, I took off my glove as I watched my fingers form into claws, the black of my skin changing to a pure white. I gouged a hole near the base of the tree, wedging the jar under it as the viscous red sap began to flow.

Feeling a tingle running down my neck, I spun around, seeing a small pack of Ursi slowly climbing up the hill, the sunlight glinting off their white armour plates.

I shook off my cloak and glove, tossing them into a pile as I slid down the hill, digging furrows in the red ground. Leaping up, I landed on the lead Ursa's face, driving it into the ground. Reaching out with my arm, I clung onto the nearest tree trunk, using my momentum to swing me into another Ursa.

My vision jolted as the Ursa swatted me out of the air, I gasp as the air was driven from my body, crashing through a tree trunk to land amongst a pile of splinters. Rolling back to my feet, I dashed towards the Ursa, its next swipe just glancing off my left shoulder. I punched my hand forward, my arm sinking up to the elbow as my hand closed around a beating organ, closing my jaws around its neck. I braced my legs against its chest, surging backwards; I ripped out its throat and heart, showering the area with blood.

Spitting out the flesh, I stared as the heart in my hand, admiring it slow beats, the warmth of the blood flowing along my skin. I shuddered slightly, adrenaline and the sight of blood triggering a deeply-buried impulse. I closed my fist, crushing the heart, shuddering as the warm blood splashed against me. Discarding the empty vessel, I turned towards the two remaining Ursi.

Sprinting towards them, I leapt at the lead Ursa, a pair of dark wings materialising to assist me. Digging my claws into its eyes, I heaved upwards, the Ursa roaring as it flailed backwards. With a sickening sound of grinding bone, the upper portion of the skull separated with the rest of its body, still jetting blood as I crushed it between my hands, spraying blood on the immediate vicinity.

Snapping off a bone spike, I vaulted over the corpse, ramming the spike through the remaining Ursa's arm, pinning it to the ground. Spinning around, I smashed my elbow into its face, hearing bones crack as its head snapped to the side. Blocking a swipe from its free arm, I flipped onto its back, breaking a spike to drive it through the shoulder. As I ripped its arm from the shoulder socket, I lost consciousness amid the rain of blood.

Returning to my senses, I saw myself looking at the mutilated corpses of the Ursi, the vast amounts of blood and chunks of flesh littering the area made it difficult to determine the exact number of Ursi present.

Walking back to the summit of the cliff, I packed up my belongings and headed back to the town, the ground sucking at my boots as I walked through the carnage.

My name is Kuroi, and I am a monster.


	2. Chapter 2 - It Takes One to Know One

Chapter 2 – It Takes One to Know One

"You're one of them Faunus aren't you?"

I sighed, sure why not, better than the other alternative.

"Listen, do you want this or not?" I held up the jar, swishing around it's contents.

"Best I got, take it or leave it." Depositing a pile of coins on the table, the shopkeeper folded his arms across his chest.

I counted out the coins, a little less than I was hoping for, but it was probably the most I was going to get. Setting the jar on the counter, I snatched up the coins and left the store, the bell tinkling goodbye.

Immediately I was flanked by two hooded figures.

"Evening Miss, would you mind if we had a word with you?" the one on the left gestured onwards.

"What do you want?" They followed on either side of me as I walked down the road, the streetlamps casting our shadows against the building next to us.

"All we want to do is to help our brothers and sisters. In return, all we ask is-"

"-to join your criminal organisation? Haven't I told you people to piss off?" Another Faunus interjected, leaning against the windowsill of a nearby house, his features hidden by the light behind him.

"This doesn't concern you Jarret." Both of the hooded figures reached into their cloaks, each pulling out a heavy calibre pistol.

"It concerns me because you're here." The smell of ozone filled the air, lightning crackling up Jarret's arms as he pushed himself off the windowsill.

"Have it your way. Fire!" Jarret vaulted out of the window as the bullets punched holes into the frame and surrounding walls. There was a flash of metal as a knife embedded itself into the thigh of one of the figures.

I jerked my head back as the second one brought his pistol around, the bullet snapping my head back as it ricocheted off a materialised plate. Shoving his arm away, I brought my leg up, catching him in the throat with the blade of my foot. As he staggered back, I stepped under his pistol arm, grabbing the wrist and the front of the shoulder, laying his arm across my back. Kicking his legs out, I dropped down, snapping his arm with a crack of bone, hearing a gurgle as he spasmed and lost consciousness.

"Let me do the talking, just stay casual." Jarret crossed his arms, jerking his head towards closing police car.

Screeching to a halt in front of us, two policemen stepped out.

"I see you've taken care of this already Jarret, who is-"

"She's here on Beacon business."

"Right." One policeman cast a sceptical glance at me, continuing on while his partner took notes.

"I was talking about the other guys."

"Hmm, not too sure, probably White Fang." Nudging the body with his foot, Jarret stepped back as more blood seeped from its wounds.

"Either way, you should probably get these guys some medical attention or something."

"We got that covered; the ambulance shouldn't be too long behind us. How did this begin?"

"As my associate was walking here, she was approached by these people, who followed her until she arrived here. After a short argument… this happened." Jarret gestured around him, at the two prone bodies on the ground, and his pockmarked balcony.

"There's been a lot of Fang activity recently, a Dust shop got hit a while back, so take care. We can probably take it from here. You're free to go." Shooing us away, the policemen began securing the White Fang members before the ambulance showed up.

"Well, guess we're done here, come on in." Jarret pushed open his front door, beckoning me in after him.

* * *

"You hardly know me, and yet you invite me into your house. What do you want?"

"Eh, you seem honest enough." Jarret sat across from me at the table, setting down a plated of stewed fish and two bowls of steamed rice.

"We'll talk once we've finished, help yourself."

"And now you offer me food? Doesn't that seem a little suspicious?" Rolling his eyes, Jarret shrugged, declining to answer.

Well, I guess it does smell nice.

* * *

"What I want to know is who you are, that's all." Leaning against his chair, Jarret nursed his tea, occasionally taking a sip.

"I'm Kuroi."

"Okay, where are your weapons then?"

"I… don't have any?"

"Then why are you covered in Grimm blood? Granted it's a bit hard to see on your cloak but the smell is still there."

"…" Bloody hell, is everyone this infuriatingly instrusive?

"What sort of Faunus heritage do you have?"

"What does it matter to you?"

"I'm only wondering." My only answer was that, and a shrug.

"So you cover for me then drag me into your house all because you were **curious**?!"

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that… " Jarret scratched his head, half-grimacing.

"Oh so you'll ask the questions but won't answer them?!" I glared at him; his attitude was beginning to annoy me.

"Fine, I answer your questions if you'll answer fine."

"I'll go first then, why did you cover for me?" I almost regretted the question as a look of eternal sadness flickered past Jarret's face, when he spoke again he was more subdued.

"Well, to put it simply, a loner always recognises another."

"A loner? What happened to you? You seem to know the people around here well - "

"Hey, it's my turn to ask the questions. So, who, or what are you?"

"I am an abnormality."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"Oh, just the same kind as yours, some bullshit that almost makes sense."

Jarret suddenly rose from the table, knocking over his tea. As he went to grab a cloth I heard him sigh.

"Beacon is supposed to be the premier academy for training Hunters and Huntresses, I was quite excited when they accepted me. However, I often clashed with my classmates and Ozpin, the headmaster. I wasn't really suitable on a team, during our initiation I leveled half the forest to wipe out a squad of Grimm. Later at that night, my name didn't appear on any of the team lists. I was later approached by Glenda, who offered me this place and a job if I agreed to leave quietly. "

Cleaning up the spill, Jarret threw the cloth back into the sink, it landing with a wet splat.

"And here I am, doing whatever errands they set for me, testing new Dust shipments, scouting for new recruits, scouting various training areas. I don't want anyone else to suffer anymore than they need to, especially seeing the White Fang there I knew I had to act, much like Glenda did to my, I'm offering you my support. So there, those were my reasons why I choose to cover for you. And, now I believe it's your turn."

"I think it's easier if I showed you." Taking off my hood and my right glove, I felt my hand elongating into claws as a bone white plate, covered in red markings, coalesced over my face.

"Well okay, that's quite something, you can uhh, control yourself right?"

"Yeah." At least I hope so.

"Alright, come with me I'll show you your room."

Following Jarret upstairs, we stopped at his room first, where he handed me some old clothes; then to a cabinet, where he handed me a towel and then to the bathroom.

"Your room is just a little bit further on, feel free to use the shower, I'll be patching up the holes from earlier."

Stepping into the bathroom, I hung the clothes and towel on the rack, catching a glance of myself in the mirror, I was shocked by my own appearance. it's one thing to know your appearance, and another to accept it. My skin was jet black in colour, contrasted to my red eyes and white hair, now a light grey due to the accumulation of dirt.

I sat down on the floor, resting my head in my hands, I felt tears flow down my cheeks. It's been so long since I've had any real human contact, and longer since anyone has accepted me at all.

* * *

Stepping into his room, Jarret pulled out his phone and dialled a number.

"Hey Glenda, it's me. We've got a problem."


	3. Chapter 3 - Test Subject Part 1

**Hey guys, hope you have been enjoying my writing, any reviews or criticism would be helpful to make it a smoother read.**

**However, I'm going into a large exam period that will have a large impact on my life, so I won't be able to keep a proper schedule for releasing each chapter. **

**I'm really sorry and I hope you understand. :D**

* * *

I felt skin tear, blood spraying on the walls as a scream echoed down the corridor.

Flicking the gore from my hands, I slowly crept along the hallway, blood sucking at my feet as I moved.

A faint drone filled the air as the emergency power started, the lights set above bathing the corridor in a pure white light.

I felt my leg buckle as a crack reverberated along the hallway, glancing down, I saw that something had passed through my thigh, as blood began to flow down my leg, mingling with that on the floor.

Scowling, I spotted a lone soldier at the far end of the corridor, his arm shaking slightly as he aimed a rifle at me.

I dashed towards him as he fired another round, the bullet deflecting off a shoulder panel, spinning my torso around, momentarily slowing me down.

Dropping the rifle, the soldier stepped back, drawing a pistol as two more stepped out from behind the corners, raising their sub-machine guns.

I left a dent in the wall as I leapt onto it, a hail of bullets tearing up the ground under me, pushing off as their aim trailed upwards.

Pouncing towards the group, I stretched out my arms, catching the two outermost soldiers, gouging deep cuts in their neck, their blood spraying out in a fine, bright mist.

I walked through the mist, shivered as it soaked through my shredded clothing, my muscles involuntarily twitching as the scent of blood filled the air.

As the remaining soldier bolted, I lunged forward, punching my fingers through his back, ripping his ribcage apart in a shower of gore, hearing his scream echo down the corridor. A messy end, but still more merciful compared to the puddles of flesh that remained of the scientists.

Holding onto the sides of the corpse, I-

_Knock Knock_

"Hey, head downstairs when you're ready, we got some work to do."

I heard Jarret's footsteps fade as I pushed myself out of bed, walking towards the mirror.

I inwardly sighed at I saw my appearance, still the same as the day before, and the day before that: sable skin, white hair, red eyes. Sometimes I hoped that it would somehow revert back to the way it was, and every morning since that day I've woken up disappointed.

Dressing quickly, I headed downstairs, finding Jarret eating in the kitchen, as he gestured for me to sit down.

"So I've been thinking, I can't let you stay here for free, so I called up my employer-"

"You WHAT?" I slammed my hands down on the table, Jarret quickly raising his in surrender.

"Woah, woah, all I said was that you were an acquaintance of mine. I called them up asking for any jobs that we would be able to take, and they gave me one. "

"Easy as that?"

"Yup, we're heading out to one of the testing grounds today to prepare it for some new recruits. You eat while I pack my stuff."

Piling up a plate with slices of meat and bread, I began to eat while Jarret moved in and out of the room, each time carrying more equipment and weaponry.

* * *

"This is uh, less than I expected." I was standing at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vast expanse of forest.

"The trees are a lot taller than they seem. Step on that plate and we will get going. Try to follow me." Pulling out a tablet, Jarret typed in a command as he unwound a weapon from his other arm, a flat metal dart attached to the end of a chain.

I felt the ground rumble, gears grinding as Jarret was launched into the air, the plate beneath me sending me soaring after him.

"-Kuroi-" I only heard one clear word as Jarret dived past me, the wind rushing by distorting the sound.

Materialising wings, I dove after Jarret as he cut through the canopy with a flash of metal.

Suddenly I was pitched sideways, crashing though a dense weave of branches and foliage, my vision filled with blurs of green.

Tumbling down through the branches, I reached out blindly for anything that could support my weight, having lost my sense of direction on the way down.

My fall was abruptly halted, I clamped my leg down on a branch that whipped by.

Grabbing my foot to ensure that I wouldn't fall, I heard a very distinct crack as the branch dropped noticeably, shaking my view as I took in my surroundings.

Letting go of the branch, before it fell on it's own, I dropped down, digging a deep crater into the ground.

"Hey, Kuroi what happened?" Jarret appeared from behind a tree, swinging on a chain, unravelling it as he landed in front of me.

I could only shrug, I wasn't even sure what happened.

"Well, we got a decent amount of Grimm headed this way, so... we could either deal with them or get on with our business." Jarret hefted his satchel for emphasis.

"I'd think it's better if we just moved on." I couldn't take the chance fighting, if I were to lose control now…

"Yeah, it'll probably be really dark when we're finished." Jarret hopped back as an Ursa burst from the brambles.

"You might want to step back for this next bit." Jarret waved me backwards as he begun to spin the chain, wrapping it around his elbow, he launched the dart as the Ursa charged, embedding it into the beast's shoulder.

The Ursa howled in rage as Jarret ripped out the dart, swinging it back, I had to drop to the ground, it whistling through the air above me. Shortening the chain with the other hand, Jarret evaded the Ursa's swipes as he bounced the chain off his own body, keeping the momentum as he weaved in and out, slicing into the Ursa. Grabbing onto the dart, Jarret spun away, throwing it through the Ursa's neck and pulling it back out in a shower of gore.

"Nothing like a fight to get the day started! Oops, guess I got carried away, ahaa…" Jarret's smile quickly faded as he saw me lying flat on the ground, quickly rushing over to help me up.

"What's in the bag? I heard some jangling." I pointed to his satchel as we began running.

"I have no idea." Pulling it open, Jarret fished inside, pulling out some chess pieces. "Oh those are for people to collect, those that return similar pieces are put on the same team."

* * *

Eventually we arrived at a broken down temple, the Grimm had eventually gave up on the chase.

There were various plinths arranged in a circle, some already topped with chess pieces, as Jarret began to set down the others, I asked him about those that were already there.

"Sometimes, not all the pieces are brought back, not everyone makes it." Although he continued to set down the pieces, I felt a deep sadness emanating from him.

"Did you… lose someone?"

"All done, let's go, it's going to get dark soon." Brushing off my question entirely, Jarret headed back into the forest, with no other way out, I followed him.

* * *

We walked back in silence, Jarret uncharacteristically moody and silent.

"Down!" I found myself thrown off my feet as Jarret tackled me, a stream of bullets punching through the tree beside us, digging furrows into the ground.

"The fuck is going on?" Pushing Jarret off me, we both rolled behind different trees as another burst of gunfire pulping the ground between us.

Seeing a flash of metal above the canopy, I instinctively shielded myself, bone plates ripping out through my clothing.

I felt multiple heavy impacts jolt the limbs holding the shields in place, bullets whizzing by as the area around me was ground into dust.

As suddenly as it started, the storm of bullets stopped, the dust clearing to reveal a cluster of people spreading out, an assortment of weapons on display as they advanced.


	4. Chapter 4 - Test Subject Part 2

** Warning: This chapter contains a fair bit of gore/blood/violence, probably more than the other chapters, so if you don't like that stuff, you're not missing much besides action.**

* * *

"Consider this payback Jarret." A voice blared from the VTOL as the congregation moved closer.

I looked over to Jarret

"White Fang?"

"Yep, that would be their mark." A red wolf head over three red claw marks, branded all over their shirts and aircraft.

"I'm beginning to hate these guys." I pushed myself up as they advanced, shaking my arms and legs, dislodging the bullets in my armour.

While you can train for the physical side of combat, learning how to use a weapon and building stamina. The real danger are the more psychological aspects, the underhand tricks, the mind games and most importantly, how and when to take the initiative.

I launched myself towards them, summoning wings to boost me along, kicking up a cloud of dust.

I smashed into the leading Fang, armour plates proliferating along my arm as I speared through him, using his body as a shield to cut into the crowd.

I ended up somewhere in the middle, I tossed away the mutilated corpse, shaking the excess blood off my arms as they began to surround me.

Fighting in a crowd is dangerous for all participants, often sight of your opponent is blocked by the people around you, large weapons being especially dangerous, to anyone, within these confined spaces.

I stepped into the first attack, deflecting it with my arm, as I smashed my helmet against his, grabbing the back of his neck as he recoiled back, I slammed my knee into his abdomen, throwing him aside as another Fang lunged at me.

Turning my torso slightly, I let his sword slip past, his momentum carrying him slightly too far forward.

I grabbed onto his arm, one hand at the wrist, the other at the shoulder. I twisted around and downwards, forcing him to the ground, using his arm as leverage. I drove my knee into his elbow, snapping his arm as it was forced the wrong way.

Howls and laughter sounded behind me, I could only assume that Jarret had charged in after me.

I raised an arm, blocking a sword strike, dodging away from another, striking out with my elbow, smashing a Fang across the jaw.

Metal flashed through the air as I leapt away, cracks appearing in my armour as fragments of bone broke loose.

They retaliated faster than I would have imagined, and more co-ordinated too, every time I would get too close they would longer ranged weapons to fend me off.

My armour was rapidly deteriorating, large pieces flaking off my skin, blood flowing freely from various wounds covering my body.

I reacted too late as another sword swung at me, glancing off my forearm and cutting into my forehead, blood streaming down over one eye.

Turning away another sword, I twisted around, slipping past a hammer swing, hammering my foot into the owner's neck.

Weaving in and out of the attacks aimed my way, I reached forward, stopping just short of grabbing onto a Fang as I was tugged backwards, feeling a pressure in my side.

Glancing down, I saw a spearhead that pierced through the armour.

With a crack, another spear broke through my armour, sinking into my left shoulder.

I batted away a third as felt them pull on the spears embedded in me, a growing pressure as my muscles strained, trying to hold themselves together.

A cold chill ran up my neck, running through my body, radiating from my core. I felt skin split as rows of sharp bone plates erupted from my body.

I saw them take a small step back as I lunged forward, cutting down the front row, blood spraying into the air as I leapt over their bodies and through the mist.

Those behind them turned around and ran. I bounded after them.

Reaching a straggler, I drove my arms through his body, tearing it apart I flung the pieces of his screaming corpse at the others, a chain reaction knocking down a considerable number.

There were already a noticeable amount of people injured, most had fallen on theirs or another's weapons in their panic to escape.

A motley crew remained behind, blocking me from hunting down the rest of the group.

I crouched down, turning over a nearby body, relishing the fear in his eyes as I sunk a talon in his chest, his eyes widened as he opened his mouth to scream.

A sudden howl drowned out the scream, a Fang broke away from the group, weapon raised, charging towards me.

I tried to stand but my body was frozen, struggling to move as she got closer.

The sword began it's downswing, leaving a luminescent trail as it arced, charged with Dust.

I felt my arm twitch, moving of it's own accord as it batted her away, a despairing groan rising from the defence group.

There was a strange sense of disconnection as my body moved without and against my control, I turned over the Fang with my foot, with a flash of light she sunk her sword into my chest.

My vision flashed white as I pulled out the sword, angling it so that the blood dripped into my mouth.

I drove the sword through her arm, pinning the other down with my arm as I knelt down, my legs trapping hers.

With my free hand I slowly cut an incision above the lowest rib, words amalgamated into pure emotion as she, despair, pain and regret, pleaded with the defence group, indecision, fear and horror.

Digging into the wound, her gasp turned into a scream as I snapped out a rib.

There was a collective roar of anger as they charged at me. I shivered, half-glimpsed intentions of dark ideas flickered through my mind as I dragged the Fang up by her neck.

I felt my arm propel her forwards, she stumbled and ran without a second glance.

As she neared the other group, I shot forwards, faster than I would have imagined, punching my hand through her ribcage, bursting from it in a shower of gore, splattering them with blood.

The group froze, their mouths agape in shock as I wrenched out my hand, ripping out the heart as her corpse slowly sank to the ground.

I threw the bloody muscle at the leading Fang, hearing it splat against his helmet, he stumbled back as blood sprayed into his eyes.

I dashed forwards, turning side-on as I elbowed him in the throat, momentarily crouching to boost the power.

Following my momentum, I leapt up, bringing up my knee to smash it into the following Fang, crushing his helmet.

I smashed into the remaining group, my vision narrowing as I tore them apart, roaring at the sky, my blood still burning as the last Fang keeled over.

I heard a shout, turning around I saw Jarret standing amongst a group of motionless Fang. Although I could see his mouth moving, I couldn't understand what he was saying.

Lightning crackled around Jarret as he readied his weapons, I instinctively took a step back, but found myself moving forward instead.

My vision blurred as I charged at Jarret, lightning crackled through my body as a weight slammed into my side, I staggered as I was struck again, this time from a different side.

I leapt away as something clipped my arm, shattering the armour plates.

There was a low whistling sound, looking up, I saw Jarret spinning a large ball of metal on a chain, there was another connected to the other end.

With a swift movement, Jarret shot the orb towards me, I rolled aside, pushing forward, I closed the distance.

I slid under the chain as Jarret spun, throwing out the second orb, aiming at my face. I batted it away, Jarret suddenly appearing in front of me, throwing out strikes one after the other, charged with lighting, my muscles involuntarily spasmed as the current passed through them.

I struck out with my fist, knocking Jarret away as I felt the chain catch around my neck.

My legs collapsed under me, my vision flickering, lightning coursing along the chain, slowly cutting off my air supply as it crippled my movement.

* * *

** I hope you've enjoyed my writing so far, if there's anything you think needs fixing, please do tell me, I want this to be as enjoyable to read as it is to write. **

**Also I am so sorry for taking so long to write a chapter, I'm trying to work on it as often as I can, so please bear with me until I finish my exams!**

**Thanks for reading!**


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